Happy St Valentine's Day!

Good Day Everyone and Happy St Valentine's Day!

I hope you are having a good day - we have had one of those 'special' days here on board ARCADIA, a kind of a cross between Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year!!!! From the mad rush of Room Service in the morning with their Champagne Breakfasts right though to the Florrie of Butlers in black tailed coats running around our top Suites with all the private arrangements going on........., from exclusive luncheon parties to pre dinner cocktails........it is all going on aboard Arcadia. I am fortunate in that I get invited to a few of these glamorous occasions - which is lovely! Passengers with butler service like to entertain and why not - after all they have paid for it!

Bye the way - Hello to Paul and Chis - I hope you are keeping up with the blog on your Grand Land Tour of the Far East and Australia - we are missing you on board........ and look forward to seeing you return in soon.

Commodore Burgoine has also had a very busy day with no less than three weddings! After all this is St Valentine's Day!!! Love is very much in the air! There have also been a number of 'engagements' today and cards,flowers and champagne have been flying around the ship! Our Florist have been flat out all day and still taking orders.........

I had a busy morning with regular business, followed by morning Coffee with Esther Rantzen CBE, who is an 'A list' Broadcaster and TV Personality in the UK. After this we did a tour of the Galley with Executive Chef Trevor Connolly and a tour of the Storerooms with Connie Fernandes our Hotel Stores Manager accompanied by Orla Beyrill our Assistant Hotel Stores Manager - regular blog readers will know all these personalities from previous blogs and they are a great support to me, there is no one on my team that I think ' wish they were not here!' We worked closely with our Fleet Personnel Department and Hotel Services Department in Southampton to build a ' Dream Team' for this Grand Voyage and you know what ' Dreams do come true'. Trevor, Esther and Orla all ended up in CAFE VIVO for a coffee and invited me to join them.

Orla and I then hosted Esther and her sister to lunch in The Meridian Restaurant and the conversation was non stop! Trevor joined us for coffee. Many of us ( including me) remember Ester for her very successful TV series 'That's Life' which was the first ever UK programme to really take on consumer affairs. Land people will recall that Esther was in the recent TV series Celebrities in the Jungle - which was filmed in near Brisbane!

After some more ship's business the evening began and the whirlwind of invitations to cover.
Once again a day to remember on board ARCADIA...........the ship that never stops!!

Hope you had a good day wherever you may be. We continue to cruise the waters of the great South land which is Southern Australia - this vast country - and although last night was frolicsome today have been nice and steady with the occasional jolt that lets you know we are on the bosoms of the deep!! I love Australia and although I have enjoyed that last six winters in the Caribbean, USA and Mexico, there is a connection here with the British and the Australians that cannot be put into words.

This blog is never meant to be a 'brochure for POC' but I cannot resit the line that our fantastic Marketing Team under the direction of Philip Price use - 'I am a shiver of excitement and I am with you all the way!' - as this is the feeling we are experiencing on board ARCADIA as we cruise this Australian Coastal - the Australians call it a 'coastal' however if you were doing this in Europe you would probably be going from Southampton to Turkey! I must find this out from our Navigator Alex and report back to you.

All I can tell you that is that is an unique voyage and those of us on board in the Ship's Company are very privileged to be experiencing Arcadia's Inaugural Voyage 'down under' - this cannot and will not be repeated and the name ARCADIA is held in such esteem and in such love and affection. The people are magic to say the least.......I have listened to more stories than I can remember - I even met a lady today from Sydney - Carmen, and she is hoping that her son can be our pilot to bring us into Sydney harbour - the stories are endless.....................and time it too short.

Love to all on this special day,
James

'love is not what makes the world go round - it is what makes the trip worthwhile'